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To: Robin Plunder who wrote (300658)	12/28/2010 11:53:21 PM
From: TH	Respond to of 306849

RP, Agree. And it is ironic that the government created internets (yea, like Bushy Junior said <g>), will be the tool to bring real change. You are a bit more optimistic than I am about educating the masses. Again, I hope I'm wrong, but I think it will take $5 gas, no jobs, riots, empty store shelves, and overt militant actions against the common man before they wake up. And of course when the ball really starts rolling, they will just shut down the internets and you and I will be labeled domestic terrorists. You know that is already in the works. GT TH

To: Robin Plunder who wrote (300658)	12/29/2010 12:25:02 AM
From: joseffy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

"One thing in our favor is the internet, ie, it is now possible to rapidly communicate and discuss with many people at the same time." Is that why they are working to take it away? Obama’s New ‘Unreasonable’ Standard Dec. 28 2010 By MERRILL MATTHEWS Forbes blogs.forbes.com excerpt: the government’s new effort, through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with respect to the Internet. Talk about a solution in search of a problem, if there is anything that has been working well it’s the Internet. And it is largely because government — whether ours or others, or the United Nations — has had little to no control over it. And the public likes it that way. A new Rasmussen poll shows only 21 percent of the public wants government to regulate the Internet. But the Obama administration can’t let something remain unregulated, lest everyone would want fewer regulations. So FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has rammed through “net neutrality” regulations to give the government more control. At the Dec. 21 FCC meeting, the chairman said: “As we stand here now, the freedom and openness of the Internet are unprotected. No rules on the books to protect basic Internet values. No process for monitoring Internet openness as technology and business models evolve. No recourse for innovators, consumers, or speakers harmed by improper practices. And no predictability for Internet service providers, so that they can effectively manage and invest in broadband networks. That will change once we vote to approve this strong and balanced order.” It’s a wonder the Internet has done so well all these years without all of Genachowski’s rules, regulations and recourses. Or maybe it has done so well precisely because it lacked those rules, regulations and recourses. We’re told that the new rules, which haven’t actually been released, give private Internet service providers the right to engage in “reasonable network management” while banning “unreasonable discrimination.” Here again we have to ask if anyone knows exactly what “unreasonable” means. When the government sets up such wide, undefinable standards, it gives the Obama administration lots of wiggle room to do pretty much whatever it wants. And we’re not done. I suspect we will see the unreasonable standard being applied to the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules and many more. Vague language like the unreasonable standard allows the president and his minions to substitute subjective opinions for objective laws, and accuse any uncooperative company of being greedy or self-serving. And it sends a message: it’s time to do it our way if you want to play in the Obama economy.